Train-coach attachment.



W. E. COOK.

TRAIN COACH ATTACHMENT.

AYPLIOATION FILED FEB. 21, 1913.

1,073,962. Patented Sept.23,1913.

3 SHEETSSHBET 1.

Elvwwwtoz COLUMBIA Pumummln cnuwaknmm'ow, IL 6.

W. E. 000K.

TRAIN GOAGH ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED rm. 21. 1913.

1,073,962. Patented Sept. 23, 1913.

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W. B. COOK.

TRAIN COACH ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION IILBD r1113. 21, 1913.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO.,WASII|NOTON, n. cy

pivirp s'ra'irns r a nnr @FliltQE WILLIAM E. COOK, OF BRAZIL, INDIANA.

TRAIN-COACH ATTACHMENT.

1 b all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. Coon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brazil, in the county of Clay and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Train-Coach Attachments, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an attachment for train coaches and has for its primary object to provide improved means for mounting a motor driven car beneath the coach, and means for easily and quickly effecting the release of the car and placing the same upon the rails.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of improved supporting means for the car suspended from the bottom of the coach including movable rails, locking or retaining means for the car, and manually operable means for simultaneously releasing the car and positioning the rails upon which the same is mounted so that the car will move upon the main track rails.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above character whereby a member of the train crew may be easily and quickly transported a su'tiicient distance in the rear of the train to flag an approaching train and thus prevent rear end collisions.

Still another object of the invention rcsides in the provision of an attachment for train coaches for the above purpose which is simple, durable and efficient in its construction and may be readily applied to the coach without necessitating any structural alterations therein.

With the above and other objects in view as will become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of the parts that I-shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved attachment showing the motor car in position beneath the train coach; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the car supporting rails tilted or lowered into position to discharge the car upon the track; Fig. 3 is an end elevation; Fig. 4t is an enlarged detail Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 21, 1913.

.atented Sept. 23, 1913.

Serial No. 749,942.

section showing the locking means for the rear ends of the supporting rails; and Fig. 5 is a similar view of the locking means for the rear ends of said rails.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 5 designates a train coach which may be of any ori'linary or approved construction. To the bottom of this coach and at the rear end thereof, an angular metal frame bar 6 is secured in any preferred manner, said bar including longitudinally extending end portions and a transverse connecting portion which extends across the rear end of the coach. To each of the longitudinal portions of this angular frame bar 6, the spaced depending hangers or supporting bars 7 and 8 are secured at their upper ends. To these hanger bars at their upper ends, the rearwardly and downwardly inclined metal bars 9 are bolted, riveted or otherwise securely fixed. The rear ends of these inclined bars 9 are curved as indicated at 10 for engagement upon the periphery of the motor car wheels as clearly shown in Fig. 1. To the rear ends of the bars 9, th: additional depending hanger or supporting bars 11 are secured. The lower ends of the intermediate bars 8 are inwardly flanged and provided with suitable hearings to receive the ends of a transverse shaft 12. To this shaft, the supporting rails 13 are secured intermediate of their ends in any preferred manner. The forward ends of the supporting rails are upwardly curved into substantially semicircular form as shown at 1 1 for engagement by the forward wheels of the motor car. The rear ends of the rails 13 have their under surfaces beveled as indicated at 15 for close engagement with the treads of the main track rails indicated at T. Upon the transversely disposed intermediate portion of the frame bar (3, a rack 16 is mounted. A lever 17 is fulcrumed as indicated at 18 upon the frame bar and is provided with the usual spring pressed dog 19 for engagement with the teeth of the rack. To this dog, the operating wire or rod 20 is connected at its lower end, the upper end thereof being connected to a handle member 21 mounted upon the upper end of the lever 17. Upon the frame 6, adjacent each end of its intermediatc portion, a bell crank lever 29 is fulcrumed and the depending arms of these levers are connected by the rod or bar 23. This bar carries a pin 24 to operate in a slot 25 provided in the lower end of the lever 17 which extends below the frame bar 6. To the ends of the horizontal arms of the bell crank levers 22, the rods 26 are connected at their upper ends, the lower ends of these rods being attached to the supporting rails 13 rearwardly of the shaft 12 upon which said rails are mounted.

27 indicates the motor car. This car may be of any approved construction and driven by means of a gasolene engine or an electric motor as may be preferred. Upon one end of this car, at each side thereof, suitable signal lamps 28 are arranged. The upper surfaces of the supporting rails 13 are preferably lined with rubber as shown at 29 to eliminate shock or jar and noise when the car moves to its position upon said rails.

For the purpose of securely retaining the car in position upon the supporting rails until its release is desired, Iprovide the locking dogs 30. The dogs 30 are pivotally mounted at their upper ends in the rear hanger bars 11 for movement through openings formed in said bars. A similar pair of dogs are mounted for movement in openings provided in the lower ends of the forward hanger bars. These locking clogs are identical in form and are-each provided with a beveled or inclined edge 32, this inclined edge of the front pair of dogs, however, being reversely disposed with respect to the corresponding edges of the rear pair of dogs. The forward hanger bars 7 have their lower ends upwardly and inwardly bent into substantially U shaped form as indicated at 33 to provide seats for the forward ends of the rails 13. The forward dogs are actuated through the medium of bell crank levers 34:, said dogs being provided with spaced arms movably connected to one of the arms of the bell crank levers. These forward dogs have bodily lateral movement through the openings in the lower ends of the hanger bars 7 whereas the rear dogs are pivotally mounted and are adapted to be swung outwardly and through the openings in the hanger bars 11 by means of similar bell cranks 34 to release the rear ends ofthe rails 13 for downward movement. The horizontal arms of the levers 34- extend outwardly from the respective hanger bars 7 and 11. ires 35 are connected at their lower ends to the other arms of these levers and extend over suitable guide pulleys indicated at 36 and are connected at their other ends to the wire 20 which actuates the dog 19 to release the operating lever 17. It will be understood that the cords or Wires 35 are connected to both the front and rear levers 34 at one of their ends and at their other ends to the wire 20. Adjacent the lower end of the bars 11, the same are provided with the inwardly projecting lugs 37 with which the outwardly projecting lugs 38 formed upon the rear ends of the rails 13 are adapted to engage.

From the above description, the operation of the invention will be understood as follows. Assuming that the motor car 27 is positioned upon the rails 13 as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the operator presses upon the handle member 21 to release the locking dog 19 of said lever and in so doing actuates the locking dogs 30 to release the car for movement upon the rails, through the medium of the flexible connections 35. Upon now shifting the lever 17 to the left from the position shown in Fig. 3, the bell crank levers 22 are actuated to force the rods 26 downwardly and thereby lower the rear ends of the rails 13. Thus when these rails are disposed in the inclined position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings the motor car will gravitate downwardly upon the same and move on to the mam track ralls T.

The extent of movement of the rear ends of the rails 13 from their locked positions to a position upon the treads of the rails T is sufficient to permit the track wheels of the car to move beneath the rear curved ends 10 of the stationary inclined bars 9. The operator after taking his position in the car, operates the motor or engine to. drive the same so that the car will speedily move to the rear of the train for a sufficient distance to enable an approaching train in the rear to be flagged and thereby avoid liability of a collision. By reversing the motor or engine, the flagman or member of the train crew can quickly return the car to its position upon the supporting rails 13.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction and manner of operation of my improved train coach attachmcntwill be fully understood.

Owing to the simplicity of the device, it will be obvious that the same can be produced at small cost and readily mounted upon the under side of the coach without requiring any alteration in the construction of the latter.

It will of course, be obvious that the invention is susceptible of considerablemodification in the form, proportion and arrangement of the several elements shown and described, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. The combination with a train coach, of tiltable rails suspended beneath the'same,

a car mounted upon said rails, and manually operable means for tilting the rails to cause the car to gravitate downwardly upon the main track rails.

2. The combination with a train coach, of tiltable rails suspended beneath the same, a car mounted upon said rails, means for locking the car upon said rails, and manually operable means to simultaneously release the car and tilt the rails to cause the car to gravitate downwardly upon the main track rails.

3. The combination with a train coach, of tiltable rails suspended beneath the same, a car mounted upon said rails, means for locking the rails against tilting movement, and manually operable means to simultaneously release the rails and tilt the same to cause the car to gravitate downwardly upon the main track rails.

4E. The combination with a train coach, of tiltable rails suspended beneath the same, a car mounted upon said rails, means for locking the rails against tilting movement, means to prevent movement of the car upon the rails when the same are locked, and manually operable means to simultaneously release the rails and tilt the same to cause the car to gravitate down 'ardly upon the main track rails.

5. The combination with a train coach, of tiltable rails suspended beneath the same, a car mounted upon said rails, means for looking the rails against tilting movement, manually operable means tor tilting said rails including a lever, and connections between said lever and the, locking means to simultaneously release the rails and tilt the same to cause the gravity movement of the car upon the main track rails.

6. The combination with a train coach, of rails pivotally mounted intermediate of their ends beneath said coach, a car supported upon said rails, locking means to engage each end of the rails and hold the same against pivotal movement, and means for actuating said locking means to release the rails for tilting movement and cause the car to gravitate downwardly upon the main track rails.

7. The combination with a train coach, of hangers mounted beneath the said coach, supporting rails pivotally mounted intermediate of their ends between the lower ends of said hangers, a car mounted upon said rails, said rails at one of their ends being curved for engagement with the car wheels, rigid inclined bars curved at one of their ends in opposed relation to the curved ends of the track rails and also engaging the car wheels, and manually operable means to tilt the rails and cause the ear to gravitz'ite downwardly upon the main track rails.

8. The combination with a train coach, spaced depending bars mounted beneath said coach at each side thereof, rearuuurdly extending inclined bars secured to said depending bars, track rails pivotally mounted intermediate of their ends between corresponding depending bars, at opposite sides of the coach, additional depending bars secured to the rear ends of said inclined bars, movable locking elements mounted in said latter bars and in the other pair of the first mentioned depending bars to engage the track rails and lock the same against movement, manually operable means connected to said rails at one side of their pivot, said means including a lever, and connections between the locking elements and said lever whereby the rails are simultaneously released and tilted to cause the car to gravitate downwardly upon the main track rails.

9. The combination with a train coach, of movable supports carried thereby, a car mounted upon said supports, and means engaged with the supports adapted when actuated to permit the car to move from the supports upon the track rail.

10. The combination with a train coach, of rails arranged beneath said coach, a car mounted upon said rails, and means arranged contiguous to the rails and engaging therewith to retain the car in position upon the same, said means when actuated permitting the car to move from said supporting rails upon the main track rails.

11. The combination with a train coach, of movable rails suspended beneath said coach, a car mounted upon said rails, and manually operable means cooperating with the rails to prevent movement of the same, said means when actuated moving the supporting rails to permit the car to move therefrom upon the main track rails.

In testimony whereof I hereunto allix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WVILLIAM E. COOK.

VVitnesse THOMAS C. RICHMOND, Jnrrnnson L. Goon.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

